About

Los Angeles Pierce College

For the four year college in Philadelphia, see Peirce College

Los Angeles Pierce College, also known as Pierce College and just Pierce, is a community college that serves more than 23,000 students in the northern Chalk Hills of Woodland Hills, a community within the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California.

The college began with 70 students and 18 faculty members on September 15, 1947. Originally known as the Clarence W. Pierce School of Agriculture, the institution’s initial focus was crop cultivation and animal husbandry. Nine years later, in 1956, the school was renamed to Los Angeles Pierce College, retaining the name of its founder, Dr. Pierce, as well as his commitment to agricultural and veterinary study. (Pierce still maintains a 225-acre (91 ha) working farm for hands-on training.)

Campus overview

Pierce College offers courses on more than 100 subjects in 92 academic disciplines, and has transfer alliances with most of the universities in the state. Students at the school successfully transfer to UC and CSU schools.

Students can pursue any of the 44 Associate’s degrees or 78 Certificates of Achievement the school offers directly.

The western rural Farm Area, at Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills.

Pierce College comprises 426 acres (172 ha) amidst a dense metropolis, an area larger than many university campuses, including that of UCLA. The grounds are landscaped with more than 2,200 trees, thousands of roses and a 1.9-acre (0.77 ha) botanical garden. The Pierce College farm houses small herds of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, a small poultry flock, as well as a llama and an alpaca for its students to learn from.

Student government

The Associated Students Organization (ASO) is the official Student Government of the 23,000 students at Los Angeles Pierce College. It has been in existence since the mid-50's and has three branches: Club Council, Senate and Student Court.

John Shepard Stadium

Besides hosting the Brahmas' football and women's soccer teams, John Shepard Stadium (current capacity 5,500) also has hosted many outdoor professional sporting events in San Fernando Valley history.

From 1976 to 1979, the San Fernando Valley's first professional sports team, the Los Angeles Skyhawks of the American Soccer League, played their home games at the Pierce College stadium.

The Los Angeles Express of the USFL played their last home game here on June 15, 1985. The stadium was expanded to 16,000-person capacity for the game.

Shepard Stadium hosts Nuts for Mutts, an annual dog show and pet fair that raises funds for the New Leash on Life Animal Rescue.

The stadium is also the former home stadium of the San Fernando Valley Quakes men's soccer team, which competed in the USL Premier Development League.

Bond construction

Since the approval of Los Angeles County Propositions A and AA, Pierce College has been undergoing large-scale renovation.

By 2010 two new “green” complexes now under construction—a 109,000 sq ft (10,100 m). Center for the Sciences and a 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m). Student Services Building—will add increased capacity and classrooms and laboratories with enhanced technologies. Other key improvements are increased parking, new infrastructure and roadways, and renovations to existing facilities.

The 2008 passage of Measure J for Jobs will bring further enhancements to the College, with a new Library/Learning Center/Instructional Media Center, and classroom facilities that offer programs focusing on emerging green technologies and new media in the planning stages.

The 2-acre (0.81 ha) S. Mark Taper Foundation Life Science Botanic Garden, completed in 2007, is a “living classroom” in the middle of campus. It features one of the finest collections of drought-resistant plants in the region.

Pierce College prides itself as an environmentally-forward institution, with a 191-kilowatt solar generation system that has 1,274 photovoltaic panels and a 360-kilowatt, natural gas co-generation system. This project is the largest of its kind to be undertaken by a U.S. community college, yielding around 4.4 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year and reducing Carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1,500 tons over its operating lifetime. The college also has a water retention pond beneath its soccer field, collecting run-off from the adjacent parking lot. The Los Angeles River is nearby to the north. Under propositions A and AA, a new water reclamation facility is also being planned, and the new facilities will meet rigorous Silver-level guidelines set by the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

The campus is home to "Old Trapper's Lodge," California Historical Landmark No. 939, an outsider art environment that pays homage to the pioneer upbringing of its creator, John Ehn. It represents the life work of John Ehn (1897–1981), a self-taught artist who wished to pass on a sense of the Old West, derived from personal experiences, myths, and tall tales. From 1951 to 1981, using his family as models, and incorporating memorabilia, the 'Old Trapper' followed his dreams and visions to create the Lodge and its 'Boot Hill.' The artwork was moved from the original site in Sun Valley, CA, and relocated to the college.

Pierce College is one of the nine colleges of the Los Angeles Community College District, and is accredited through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, a nationally recognized accrediting agency. It is located at 6201 Winnetka Ave. near Victory Boulevard. The campus is accessible from the LACMTA Orange Line station of the same name.

In April 2010, after securing a $100,000 grant, Pierce College launched a 24-hour student-run online radio station, KPCRadio.com, airing a mix of music, sports and locally-produced news and features. The station has a faculty adviser and a staff of 20.

Events

South Gym

In April of every year, the Foundation for Pierce College hosts Farmwalk, an outdoor festival including animals, activities, displays, games and music. The Farmwalk also includes face-painting, a petting-zoo and hayrides for children, all to benefit the Pierce College farm.

In October the Foundation sponsors an annual Harvest Festival, featuring tons of pumpkins grown on the Pierce farm, a five-mile (8 km) corn maze, rock climbing, games and rides for the children, a petting zoo, live music and Halloween frights for the whole family.

The College also serves as a Los Angeles County large animal emergency evacuation center. During a slew of fires in Southern California in 2007, Pierce College sheltered and fed more than 150 horses under the direction of the L.A. County Volunteer Equine Response team. The horses were taken in for free at Pierce, and a veterinarian was onsite. Trained volunteers from Pierce's equestrian program assisted the county rescue effort.

Athletics

Pierce College currently fields 11 athletic teams, which compete in the Western State Conference.

Many athletes receive scholarships to four-year universities after playing at Pierce—and Pierce has some of the top sports facilities in the San Fernando Valley.

In 2009 the Pierce Brahmas won the American Pacific Conference, losing in the first round of bowl playoffs to the National Champs Mt. San Antonio College

Notable alumni and staff

View from the Pierce College Performing Arts Building up in the Chalk Hills,
northeast across San Fernando Valley to the San Gabriel Mountains.